Nov 22, 2021 - World

Germany debates forced vax

Jacob Knutson

A sign indicating a coronavirus testing site in Stralsund, Germany, on Nov. 29. Photo: Stefan Sauer/picture alliance via Getty Images

Members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc have called for coronavirus vaccine mandates to head off a fourth wave of coronavirus cases, according to Reuters.

Why it matters: The country's seven-day coronavirus case rate rose to 372.7 per 100,000 people on Sunday — the highest level since the pandemic began — and it has a vaccination rate of just 68%.

What they're saying: "We've reached a point at which we must clearly say that we need de facto compulsory vaccination and a lockdown for the unvaccinated," Tilman Kuban, head of the youth wing of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, wrote in the newspaper Die Welt on Sunday.

Yes, but: Required vaccinations wouldn't be an immediate solution to the rising cases, as people are not considered fully vaccinated until several days after their shot or second dose, depending on which type of vaccine they receive.

The big picture: The debate over whether to issue federal and state vaccination mandates comes as the country is also debating whether to follow its neighbor Austria into another national lockdown, according to the New York Times.

Go deeper: Austria to enter national COVID lockdown

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Germany debates forced vax

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